The Second Heir
by Krizzie
Summary: Ryu's got a girl claiming to be his sister. And somehow, Pluto is involved.
1. Visiting the Past

**The Second Heir**

**By: **Krizzie

**Disclaimer: **I don't own DSQ, it's characters or plot, but anything not involved in the anime/manga that appears here is mine.

**Warning: **Nothing yet; Maybe crappy writing but other than that… nothing. Maybe in the next chapters.

A/N: I dug out an old draft and revised it. XD Ryuu, Kyuu and Megu are 18 years old and the rest follows. I'm not following canon strictly, okay?

* * *

--

**Chapter One: **Visiting the Past

--

Ryu sits around, alone, in the house. It is eerie, quiet and it always has been, even when _they _were in the house. He raises his head and observes. The walls are bare of pictures, the furniture layered with dust, the fireplace black with overuse. Yurie hated the cold.

But now Yurie is dead. So is Anubis. The last time he had seen them, they were burning in the cruise and the blonde man's stare is burning a hole to his soul.

The prodigy closes his eyes, and carefully looks around again. He is not naïve enough to thing that _their_ deaths would stop his grandfather from chasing him, but he cannot stop that little bubble of hope. He stands and walks around. He is not a detective for nothing. While he is sure that this place would never be even suspected as a crime scene, he treats it as one. His hands are covered with plastic gloves as he inspects every object, to see if he can recognize anything out of place.

The chairs had been rearranged, pillow cases not as he remembered. The vase Yurie had bought was standing in the corner, but he is unsure whether those are the same, plastic flowers.

It is of no use. He doesn't have a photographic memory and he had been gone too long. What he may be able to find may even be inconsequential but still, Ryu moves on.

They may be good, but surely, they have left a clue or two. No deception is infallible.

The kitchen is clean. Glasses stacked away in cupboards. Fridge empty. Canned food. Expired. There is nothing to find there.

His hand brushes over the railing as he climbs the steps to the second floor. The wood is smooth with varnish, but that is nothing of note.

He passes by one room, and then another. The beds are made, closets empty except for some new shirts that have been obviously unused and some clean shoes. The windows are locked shut. They never truly lived here.

The mark of a careful assassin.

The last room is smaller than the others and this, Ryu is surprised, is obviously inhabited. It could be a plant, a lie, to mislead the police on the off-chance that they arouse suspicion, but Ryu checks just in case.

The walls are a faded yellow, the curtains white. Sunlight filtered in through the open window and illuminated particles that danced in midair. The bed is a mess, white comforter almost falling off the mattress. Two pillows, perpendicular to each other, as if the person hugs one in his (or her) sleep. The desk is full of books. Mystery novels, conspiracy theories, DIY manuals, a coloring book, tubes of watercolor and some kids' magazine.

Ryu walks in further. The bathroom door is open. He steps inside. It is neat. One toothbrush. A flowery scented soap. Three bottles of shampoo. Two are empty. The tiles are dry. But that can't confirm anything. He looks up. One small window. Underneath, a pair of panties hanging to dry. A girl.

Ryu checks the closet. There are corduroys, cargo pants, collared shirts, blouses, a denim skirt, a schoolgirl's uniform, one yellow sundress and messy overalls. The pile of clothes under the hangers are messy and obviously just thrown in without a care for organizing. The drawers contained underwear. Definite female. B-cup, Ryu checks one. Not Yurie's then.

The boy blushes as he remember his first encounter with lingerie. It had been an accident and never mentioned again. He puts the brassier back and closes the drawer before mulling over the implications.

One, it could be just as he thought and this was just another Pluto ploy.

Two, there could be another female -at least Ryu hopes- residing with Yurie and Anubis.

If it is the latter, there is also the question whether she has perished in the fire. Was she involved with Pluto at all? Was she a victim? She seemed comfortable enough, judging by her living space, but Ryu knew all about hypnosis.

Ryu rummages through the desk. The books were of little help. The notepads contained notes that made no sense, grocery lists, some elementary poetry and lots of meaningless doodles. Ryu observes them with a critical eye. They are messy, but well-done. He looks through the file cabinet and finds a sketch pad.

The first drawing is a landscape, and after a few minutes Ryu recognizes it as the view from the open window. The buildings are sloppy but the cars are well-drawn.

The next features a street, houses, kids.

Then a playground. Empty.

The next page is a dog. Siberian Husky.

The fifth page contains a drawing of DDS.

Ryu's heart pounds. The lines are uneven and some are crooked. There are some architectural mistakes but the building is too familiar not to be recognized.

Ryu flips the page, a little hurriedly, and sees Yurie with her little smile. He flips it again and there, like an angry scar, is Pluto's seal.

Ryu tucks the sketchbook in his bag then leaves.

* * *

A/N: Alright. This is just a try-out of sorts. Just to see some reactions so kindly review. Thank you. :)


	2. Print

**The Second Heir**

**By: **Krizzie

A/N: Second chapter. Haha! I haven't been able to concentrate on anything. XP

* * *

--

**Chapter Two: **Print

--

The drawing can mean any number of things. It is obvious that she has come in contact with Yurie and Ryu suspects it is even voluntary, if her living space was anything to go by. There seemed to be no ill will, at least, not expressed.

The DDS drawing. That was a puzzle. Had she been following him? Likely, seeing who she were with. Was she a student? After Ryu's betrayal, they may have enrolled someone else to keep watch, but as far as Ryu knows, there hadn't been a new student since the exams, not counting Kuniko, and she can't be Pluto's accomplice. Maybe they had someone else planted since the beginning? The idea wasn't farfetched.

Ryu tries to ward off the anxiety but fails. Ryu has reason to fear. If this person is alive, she is potentially dangerous. He has no idea who she is and who she's masquerading as, and Ryu could never go to the police.

He finds a pay phone and contacts Kyu. Nobody is at home so he leaves a message. Sorry, I won't be able to come to dinner to night, please don't wait up. I'll be sleeping somewhere else. Kyu, I'm fine, just checking something. See you Monday.

He buys some take-out, finds a modest hotel and checks in. Once he is showered and full, he ponders.

The drawings are beside him. He stared again at the seal before taking out his DDS notebook. First things first, fingerprints.

--

Ryu finds three sets. One is his, the other is Yurie's and the third unknown. He is sure that the third set belongs to his unknown artist, but just prints won't do. He needs an ID.

He checks the clock. 8:30. Not too late. Kazuma should be awake. He takes his coat and leaves to search for a pay phone.

--

"So… could you get it?"

"Sure, but I'm not making any promises. Send it to me and I'll see what I can find."

"Thank you. Could you get it to me before the day's end?"

"Five hours at most. I'll get back to you."

--

_The drawing after the seal is another drawing of Yurie: done in charcoal with harsh black lines. The shadows are well-defined but the drawing is unfinished, with half of the face falling apart in a messy tumble of lines and shadows. Despite that, the drawing is signed and dated April 28. Present year. Less than a month ago._

_Ryu narrows his eyes at the thin signature. The curves are neat, but unreadable. Just a curve and a stretch of ink._

_Turn the page. Another DDS drawing. The old building this time._

_The next page is Kyu, the next Megu, then Kinta and Kazuma._

_The pages are thinning out. Only two pages left. Ryu's gaze is hard and calculating. As he expected, the next drawing is him, standing outside the old building, bag slung over his shoulder. Ryu looks at the last page._

_It is done with red ink, and Ryu is dead. _


	3. Dead End

**Umeko**: Yep. You'll know more about her in the following chaps.

**Mask Rider Roy**: Thank you for your reviews. I haven't finished Tsubasa Chronicles or XXXHolic yet so I'll take a rain check. Sorry. And I tried to make it a bit longer, but failed. I can't write long chapters without making it boring. XP

* * *

--

**Chapter Three: **Dead End

--

The call came in when he was in the shower.

Ryu stares at the foggy mirror, sees the droplets scattered across his face and imagines them turning red, imagines his hair getting darker as crimson seeps away from a large uneven gash on his forehead, and he is mad and anxious and _afraid_ and why is there even a mirror under the shower anyway? He wants to cry and shout and tell the world to screw themselves over but he does nothing and the phone is ringing.

Ryu realizes he is breathing too hard, too fast and turns the knob with a shaky hand to receive the water full blast.

--

She moves carefully around her room. She knows he had been here, knows that he would find out eventually, but she still despises him for it.

Adrenaline courses through her veins. He had come in here, like some _god_ after walking out those years ago. He was a damn fool, he was, if he thinks he could escape and then prance in like he owns the goddamn place.

She walks over her dresser, imagines seeing her reflection at the mirror that used to be there but now isn't. She hates mirrors, hates seeing herself in them, because she always looks distorted and wrong.

Her muddy boots thud pleasantly against the floorboards as she turns and walks towards her closet. Her clothes are disarranged, as always, and she sees him seeing her clothes. Imagines him dragging his hand through her drawers and thinking her a slob and jots that in the mental notepad people like him seem to have.

He should have died, she thinks. He should have stayed in that fucking boat and died.

Her desk is mussed, her pencils scattered where he had knocked them over when he was in a hurry to leave. Rude boy. Her desk was the only thing she cleaned and Yurie used to jibe her on it.

But Yurie's dead.

She drops the empty box of crackers on the floor. Surveillance cameras are dandy sometimes, she thinks, brushing some crumbs from her loafers. He had been here and she had been watching.

Trespassing… stealing. She could put him to jail.

She brushes her fingers over her desk and imagines him as he does the same only minutes before. Putting him to jail would be too kind, and he would make it out after one night, she is sure, he is insufferable like that.

She picks up her pencils and then places them in a neat line on the edge of her desk. Then she takes out a piece of paper, because that despicable person had taken her sketch pad, and she begins to draw.

--

Ryu double checks himself before calling Kazuma back.

"Where the hell were you?" Kazuma answers. He hears him typing on the other line.

Ryu apologizes. "I was in the shower; didn't hear the phone ring."

Kazuma snorts and Ryu remembers the time when this boy was curt and polite with him. "Whatever. I didn't get a match. I tried hacking other databases… still nothing. Either he's a god or he just didn't have a reason to log in his prints anywhere."

Ryu is disappointed but not surprised. Few Pluto members have established records.

"She" Ryu corrects with half a mind.

"Huh?"

"She. A girl."

"…whatever."

Ryu contemplates whether it would be too rude to just hand up. Deciding on good manners, he opens his mouth to speak. "Thank you for the assistance, Kazuma."

He hears a chair scraping on the other end and imagines Kazuma leaning back, phone cradled between his chin and his shoulder. "Eh, Ryu. If you don't mind me asking, what is this case you're working on alone?"

I do mind you asking. "It's not a case." Ryu replies easily, because that much is true. "Just a mind bender. A little mystery."

Shuffling. "…if you say so. Best of luck then, whatever it is."

"Thank you. Good night."

"Night"

Ryu drops the phone on his lap before wiping his face with his right hand.

Dead end.

He feels tired all of a sudden. His limbs felt heavy. He lets himself fall until he feels his back hit the mattress, closes his eyes then finally succumbs to sleep.


	4. Meeting

A/N: I tried to make it a bit longer. XP Almost made it to 2000 words!!! XD

* * *

--

**Chapter Four: **Meeting

--

The room is dark, illuminated only by the video screens. She crosses her legs, her arms are wrapped around a warm mug of milk and she drinks as she watches.

"The heir is back." She says in a tone that is almost polite.

--

He has no idea what compelled him but Ryu finds himself back at the house. He slides his key in and enters, closing the door behind him.

Above Yurie's vase, a camera shifts and focuses on his face.

He removes his shoes, notices the floor has been polished and there were dirty dishes on the sink. She had been back and may even be here watching him.

He climbs the staircase again and this time heads directly to the girl's room. The bed is made and replaced with yellow blankets that matched the walls.

Ryu approaches the desk, lifts a stone paper weight and stares at the message written with fancy calligraphy.

"_**Welcome home, Ryu-sama."**_

--

Ryu is standing there for a while before he drops the paper weight and stumbles maybe three steps. The video feed is a bit muddy and she made a little mental note to get it fixed as soon as she can as she watches the heir take deep, even breaths.

I don't understand what the big deal is, she says to herself, taking a long swallow of milk. He had been confident enough when he left. The guts of him. He should have been dead.

But no, just because he is the heir, he is _tolerated_ as a traitor. The mere notion of it bites at her, makes her blood boil. She grips the cup a little tighter. The heir is sitting at her bed, clutching the sheets in tight-balled fists. She enjoys it, seeing his vulnerability, and she wants to show it all to them to prove that he didn't and still _doesn't _deserve to be the heir.

--

"He called you?"

Kyu's voice resounds in Kazuma's ears, and the youngest member of Class Q waits for him to calm down before speaking.

"Yes. Yesterday. He was asking for a favor, asking me to find a match for some prints."

"_He's working a case???_" If possible, Kyu sounds even more frantic.

Kazuma sighs. "I asked him about it. He said it was nothing important."

"Kazuuumaaaa…" Kyu's whine is drawn out and annoying. "You know Ryu-kun. He could've found Yamashita's treasure and he won't tell us anything, not if he can help it."

Kazuma laughs. "He's not that bad, Kyu."

"Well, maybe not." Kyu concedes. "But he's nearing it. He didn't even tell us where he's staying!!!"

"I'm sure he'll tell us if he gets into any trouble. Don't baby him, Kyu. Maybe he's tired of freeloading." Kazuma erases the game draft he had been working on when Kyu called. Too drab.

"Fine. But tell me if he contacts you again."

"You're not his mother, Kyu."

"I'm just worried."

"He'll be fine."

"I hope so." Kyu says softly just as Kazuma hung up. He replaces the phone back into the cradle, not a little preoccupied. "Really, really hope so."

--

That night, Ryu dreams.

_He sits at his usual seat at the back of the classroom. Megu and Kyu are chatting outside the hallway. Both seem to be in a good mood. The door opens and Ryu turns to greet them but instead sees a girl. _

_He trails his eyes from her feet up. She is petite, and short. But her face is nothing. Nothing but a blank clump of flesh that should have been funny but instead, is terrifying.  
_

"_Hello, Ryu-sama. Shall we go home together, now?" The clump divides in two, a horrible, ugly gash tearing away at skin and bones and emitting sounds that echo disgustingly from the whitewashed walls.  
_

_There is laughter, laughter and behind the faceless beast his classmates are piled and dead. Their eyes are open and accusing and they are blaming him over and over and over again._

.Yourfault. You should have been the one to die.

"_This is fate, Ryu-sama." She cackles. The faceless head is bobbing up and down, the ugly tear bleeding as she takes a step and another towards him. Kyu, Megu, Kinta and Kazuma are doing the same; Bloody limbs moving in grotesque ways as they try to lift themselves._

"_You can't escape destiny. You'll be their death."_

_Ryu screams._

Amakusa Ryu wakes up in cold sweat. He feels hot, clammy and disgusting. The hotel sheets are wet and tangled all around his legs and his head felt throbbed and span like he had just been on a really bumpy roller coaster ride.

He clutches a handful of hair and takes a deep breath. The room is still dark. The clock reads five AM. He opens a lamp, and waits until he has regained his balance before walking steadily towards the bathroom to soak in a cold shower.

--

"Your recommendations are a bit flashy." Nanami remarks with a smile. He is leaning on his table, staring at the newcomer's records and his instincts are telling him that something isn't right.

"Where did you say you were from?"

She crosses her legs and leans back. "I didn't say anything, but if you'll check my records, you'll know I studied in France. Arts. Fascinating stuff." She looks around deliberately, eyes stopping at the cacti by the windowsill. "Although, given your profession, you may have a different idea of fascinating." She smiles.

He laughs sincerely at that. "I'm a renaissance man myself. But tell me, what got you interested in… my fascination?"

She doesn't find him funny. "My uncle convinced me." She answers readily. "A friend of his is a detective in London. We came over to visit and well, you know the rest."

Nanami rubs his jaw and looks at her record again. They don't normally accept students midterm but as he had said, her recommendations were difficult to ignore. "I see. Your uncle someone… prominent?"

She laughs. And she seemed too at ease for his comfort. "Nothing note-worthy. A well-off politician."

"Aa." Nanami's eyes crinkles with distaste. He detests politics. "Anyway, we better be going. Dan-sensei is expecting you."

She stands up with a flourish, patting her skirt down before bowing fluidly. "Of course. Please take good care of me, Nanami-sensei." She rises with a little tilt to her head, looking almost cute in a stand-offish kind of way. Nanami tilts his head back, a little more formally, before heading the way out.

--

Ryu is the last one to arrive and Kyu is by his side in an instant.

"RYU!!! Where've you been? Mom was worried sick when you didn't call again. She thought you must've been kidnapped or something and I had to tell her about your super kickass martial arts fifty hundred times in a row before she could go to sleep."

Ryu smiles apologetically. "Just tying some loose ends, Kyu. Sorry for making you worry."

"You'll come to dinner tonight, ne?" Kyu asks eagerly. The rest of Class Q watches with amusement as the eccentric detective pushed the blue-haired prodigy inside.

"Yes." Ryu sighs as he settles on his seat.

"YATTA!!!"

"Did you find what you were looking for, Ryu?" Kazuma asks and everyone else ignored the dancing Kyu in favor to look at him. Kazuma leans on Ryu's table to demonstrate his interest.

Ryu pauses. "Uhmm. Not exactly."

"It must've been something really difficult then." Kazuma frowns. "Kyu's worried sick because of the stunt you pulled. Tell us if you need anything, Ryu. We can help. I don't want him calling me anymore in the middle of the night just to check up on you."

Megu and Kinta were just about to ask what that was about when Honggou-sensei stepped in, scars, coat, frown and all.

"Calm yourselves down, you brats." Dark eyes fell from them to glare at something outside the door. "I'll be introducing someone to you."

A girl steps out from behind the door frame to be scrutinized by the five students. She is about as tall as Kazuma, maybe shorter by half an inch. Her hair is a striking blue, dark at the roots and gradually getting lighter by the ends. Her hazel eyes are wide and dancing. Her face is a bit round, her pink lips settled in a polite smile. She is wearing a yellow sundress Ryu recognizes and a pair of worn out sneakers that look so out of place.

Her smile is tight and her gaze is hard on Ryu as she speaks. "Good morning everyone. My name is Kota Renji."

Honggou-sensei snorts in what sounded like incredulity and she looks up smugly at him before dropping her gaze back down again. "But!" she exclaims with a small bounce. "Just a few months ago, I was Amakusa Ren."

She smiles a bit wider as the color drains from Ryu's face.


	5. Confrontation

A/N: Thank you Umeko and Mask Rider Roy for the reviews. :)

I'll have a sketch posted of Renji, just need to find someone kind enough to lend me a scanner. XP

* * *

--

**Chapter Five: **Confrontation

--

Honggou-sensei motions for them all to sit down. Ryu hardly feels himself doing it but soon enough, he is erect on his seat and she standing directly in front of him.

"Right. So, any questions?" Her hazel eyes are now looking around the room and he sees them taking in each face into memory.

Ryu's eyes narrows and the detective in him takes over. He is no longer anxious, now that he has something to do. Before, he had been too panicked, too overwhelmed; but now she is here, and Ryu doesn't that doubt that that is _her_, and he knows he should do something about it.

"Uhmm, how are -well, _were_- you related to Ryu-kun?" It was Megu who asked, her pink eyes darting unsurely between him and the newcomer. Ryu gives her a small smile to placate her and she smiles tentatively back.

"Knew you were going to ask that." Renji chirps. She is bouncing back on her heels. "Hmm. Well, I've been a veteran in the orphanage, you know. I was five before someone chose me." She looks sharply at Ryu and gives a wink. "Pretty woman she is too, Yurie-kaa-chan. I'm sure the name's familiar."

"No, unfortunately." Kazuma says with a frown. "But I think Ryu recognizes it."

If it wasn't for the inbred posture, Ryu would have sunk low in his seat. "Yurie is the name of the woman who picked me up before. My mother." He raises his eyes to match her gaze and finds her smiling that polite little smile again and recognizes it for what it is.

She is mocking him, that little manipulator, helping him dig himself a bigger grave and he's falling for it.

"Yea. What he said." She smiles brightly again. "But I've never met 'nii-chan until now. Shame, that." Renji looks sincerely upset as she looked at him and Ryu could at least tell that that was an honest statement. "Yurie-kaa-chan is dead and I figured I might as well look for him, since legally, he _was_ my brother."

"Your mother's _dead_?" All eyes were on Ryu, and once again he feels the need to dig up a whole and cave himself in.

"Oh! I'm sorry." Ren pipes up, dragging all the attention back to her. Suddenly, she looks simpering and sad and hurt. "Uh… 'nii-chan still doesn't know. Uhmm… he's been studying here and well, I was supposed to be the one to deliver the mes-"

"Excuse me." Ryu doesn't know where he finds the strength the stand. "Could I please talk to my… _sister_ in private, if you all wouldn't mind?"

Honggou-sensei looks almost sympathetic as he nods stiffly. "Take your time."

Ryu releases a breath and looks at Ren with a hard gaze. "Thank you."

--

They walk together with Ryu leading the way until they are outside the old building. He stops under a tree that he is sure wouldn't be visible from inside the building and leans on the trunk as she stands maybe four feet away from him.

"I'm sorry." She says, but her look is telling him the exact opposite. She fixes her dress and straightens her hair. "I-"

"How old are you?" Ryu asks instead, cutting her off.

Ren looked offended. "Why?"

"I'm asking."

"Fourteen." She answers in a clipped tone that matched his.

"And how old were you when you joined…" Ryu searches for the right word. "…the organization?"

He watches as her brows meet and she sucks in a breath between her teeth. "Eleven."

"You've been told to obey me." It wasn't a question but she confirmed it with a forced nod.

"And if I tell you to go away?"

"There are some exceptions to the order, I've been told." She sneers. "You're still a traitor."

"I see." Ryu is much calmer now. "Why did you change your name?"

"That's a stupid thing to ask." She scoffs at him and he can already tell that she despised him.

"Of course. Yet you told them you were related to me."

"It's all part of the plan."

"I don't suppose you'll tell me what the plan is."

She is glaring at him again and another patch of grass dies as her shoes dig violently on the ground. "No." she answers bitterly then frowns as if she remembered something unpleasant, then that irksome smile is on her face again. "I'm sorry, Ryu-nii-chan, but you'll have to put up with me for a while." She stands up, bows. "And I'm sure you already know this but just so you can't say I didn't tell you, I'll have to stay with you."

"Stay with me…" Ryu straightens up after her, confused and a little breathless. "What?"

She smiles pleasantly. "Currently, I'm booked in some hotel but you wouldn't let your little sister stay there, would you? It's only good manners to take me in, even if we're not legally related anymore."

"I-I…"

She twirls a lock of hair before tossing it over her shoulder. "I understand you have… difficult sleeping arrangements and I wouldn't want to impose so I had my uncle rent an apartment nearby. You remember the old house, don't you? Of course, silly me." She flicks herself on the forehead. "You've been there a few times, ne? Messing around the place. Trespassing is a crime, you know? But no harm done. Next time, you could even invite your classmates over." Ryu could only watch as she jumped and clapped her hands excitedly. "We could even have a slumber party!"

That was just unacceptable. "Wait, Ren-"

"I'll be seeing you after class. Dan-sensei told me I wouldn't be starting quite yet. He gave me some time to settle down. Such a kind man. I gotta go and fix my stuff. Ne, bye, 'nii-chan!"

And she is off before Ryu could even wave goodbye.

--

When he came back without Ren, he told Honggou-sensei that she had went home on her own and endured the curious stares of the other members of Class Q.

He found himself drifting through the lecture and it was a welcome surprise that Honggou-sensei left him alone, unlike the others who kept trying to catch his eyes. Ryu solved that problem by keeping his head bowed.

When class was finished, he was out the door before Sensei was.

--

Ryu finds himself in the house for the third time.

Ren is already seated, a cup of tea in her hands and another in front of an unoccupied seat. She tilts the cup to take a sip then slowly replaces it on the table before greeting him.

"Welcome home, Ryu-sama." She says with a bright smile, her even teeth brilliant against her pink lips. She gestured smoothly at the seat that was obviously reserved for him and waited until he was settled before pouring him some tea.

"Yurie-sama had been very strict on her last request."

Ryu narrows his eyes. "Last request?"

"That in the off-chance that she might…" She places the pot down and leans back. The smile is stuck on her face. "…perish, the heir should be properly monitored and taken care off. Verbatim."

Despite himself, Ryu sneers. "And they send you to do the job?"

"I assure you, Ryu-_sama_," he could tell that she was refraining from physically assaulting him. "…that I have expressed my outmost disgust and protest, in many different ways. Of course, she outranked me and in the end I had no say in the matter." There is no more smile now. Her hazel eyes are burning with hatred as she stares at him.

Ryu recognizes an amateur eager to please, and wonders how the organization found her.

She drops her gaze on her hands. "I am only doing what I am told to do. My interests are of no importance."

Ryu chose to ignore the blatant self-pity in that statement. He gathers the cup in his hands and asks another question. "She told you to reveal yourself?"

"She said it was inevitable." Ren answers. She sips tea and Ryu follows. "She told me you were a 'clever young boy' and sooner or later you would find out. Better not make things harder for myself."

"I could expose you." He suddenly says.

She laughs. "_Expose_ me? Have you gone mad???" She sneers and almost drops saucer she has been holding. "Have you seen yourself? You're nothing but a bloody coward!!! Excuse the language."

"The only cowardice in my actions is not getting away from Pluto much earlier." He snaps back, losing his patience. This girl knew _nothing_.

"Getting away? You're as far from Pluto as the day you were born. You're _trying_, Ryu-sama. There's a huge difference right there. Valiant effort though, I must admit, running away from us but…" she smirks at his face and leans in closer. "You haven't told them, have you, Ryu-sama? Those pretty little friends of yours back in that ancient classroom. They don't know a _thing_."

Ryu grips her by the shoulders and pushes her back, but the words in his throat dies and he can't say anything to this little girl who suddenly comes here and tries to ruin his life.

"Ah. Just as I thought." She relaxes, slaps his hands away. "You haven't told them anything. Wonder how your little friends would react, master, if they find out. Ignorance could be beneficial but it's oh so _very_ painful in the long run." Her teeth flash against the lights. "Very, very painful."

--

"I'm worried, Kyu."

Kyu, Kinta and Kazuma stop and turn to look at the only girl in their class. She is looking at her feet, an anxious expression over her pretty face. "Ryu looked really… off earlier. I wonder if he's okay."

They are silent for a while until Kyu suddenly breaks into a smile. "Of course he's okay Megu. He's Ryu! That's enough reason, right?"

"But even Ryu is human, Kyu." Kazuma says in a serious voice. "He looked really pale earlier. Even scared."

"Scared is something I've never really matched with Ryu." Kinta laughs. "He's supposed to be the cool guy, next to me of course."

"I'll feel much better after we iron things out with Kota-san." Megu confesses. "I'm sure their mother's death was a big shock and right after knowing he had a sister too. He must be confused."

"Knowing Ryu, he's sorting things out just fine." Kyu walks over to her and gives her a soft tap on the shoulder. "And I forgot to tell you, they're striped this time!"

"…"

"…?"

"…"

"…Megu?"

"KYAH!!!! You _pervert_!!!"

--

"I see. They are legitimate then?"

"As far as I can see, sir."

"Alright. Thank you."

Kotaro Nanami hangs up the phone and reads the new girl's files again. He had checked from her every source and everyone confirmed that she had, indeed, been there at the time she claimed to be and yes, her files weren't fabricated. He should've been assured, but instead, he is more suspicious.

--

Ren stops at the room before hers, and Ryu peeks inside.

"There's a connecting door?" His voice betrays no clue about how he feels about it.

"I wouldn't want you going out of the corridor just to check on me." She grins mockingly. "And I know you would; check on me, I mean. That's what good brothers do, right?"

Ryu almost rolls his eyes. Almost.

"Uncle has bought you some new clothes, and he installed a phone; Separate line from mine, of course so we can make calls at the same time. You've got your own computer too, with internet. As for the décor…" she looks around almost sheepishly. "I chose the colors. I don't know your preference and nobody could offer anything…" she shrugs without commitment and offers him a shrewd glance. "In any case, I hope it suits you fine 'nii-chan."

Ryu looks at her. She's driving him man! And not the typical way a woman drives a man mad either. She is a child, he knew, but she represents something that still pains Ryu to think about and she knows about it. She is confusing him; hopping from one personality to the next in a heartbeat, just to keep him guessing.

She raises an eyebrow at him when he doesn't speak for too long and he stumbles out of his reverie and speaks. "It would do. I have to place a call."

She understands. "If you need me, you know where my room is, 'nii-chan."

He almost tells her not to call him that but she has already skipped away and closed her door shut.

Ryu dials Kyu's home number.

--

"Where _are_ you Amakusa Ryu???"

Mrs. Renjou's face is red when Kyu walks in and he decided that a humorous jab might not be her cup of tea at the very moment.

"Is Ryu coming for dinner?"

She ignored him. "Not going home for two nights in a row is unforgivable. I cooked you some nice ramen tonight too!"

Kyu smells the evidence and devises a plan to eat Ryu's share himself since it is obvious that he wasn't coming home tonight either.

"Yes, I know you're sorry dear but how about you make it up by at least coming by to eat with us?"

Kyu waits patiently as Ryu's voice sound on the other line. After three minutes of silence, his mother's nose wrinkles. That's not a good sign. "Oh. I'll be sure to ask him. I'm sorry for backing you out in a corner, dear. Yes, he'll hear from me." Kyu feels really bad about this. "Come by tomorrow afternoon with your… sister then, alright?"

Pause.

"Oh… Saturday will be fine. I'll cook something special for the both of you." A dainty, forced laugh. "Alright. Alright. Good evening, Ryu-kun. Sleep well."

Kyu felt the blood leave his face when his mother carefully replaced the phone and faced him with crazy information-crazed eyes.

--

Ryu purses his lips and fails to hide a smile as he imagines Kyu's mother strangling his son for details. He hadn't meant to tell her about his sister but suspected that she'll hear it from Kyu sooner or later, and better be him to disclose such sensitive information.

He forgot to tell her about his supposed deceased mother though.

Bah. Kyu could tell her, then she could think that he was far too upset and shaken to tell her himself, and no harm done. Ryu needs to think about other things now.

Like how to deal with Kota Renji, if that's who she really is. Eleven. She was extremely young to be recruited. When he left Pluto at fourteen, he was the only teenager. The youngest had all been in their mid-twenties.

He is shaken by the thought that corrupting children didn't even faze his grandfather.

The walls were navy blue and Ryu could still smell the remnants of fresh paint. Storm cloud silhouettes surrounded the last inch of the wall close to the floor. The floorboards are wood, and creak in some places. His school desk is bare except for a couple of notepads and unsharpened pencils.

The bed was snug with a queen-sized mattress and covered with plain grey blankets. Three pillows, one longer than the other two, are arranged neatly below the headboard.

The closet is well-stocked with long sleeves, turtlenecks, a couple of short-sleeved shirts and three collared shirts. Some dress shirts are tucked on the left, along with other formal wear. At least the uncle had good taste.

The uncle.

Ryu wanted to kick himself for missing it. The uncle, of course, would be a bigger lead than this whacked female living on the room adjacent from his.

Ryu closes the closet door gently then leans on the wall. He could hear her shuffling footsteps on the other side.

He leans back and contemplates. No doubt the uncle is also a Pluto member. He looks at the phone but thinks the better of it. He closes his hand on the knob of the door separating their room, turns, and pulls it open.

* * *

A/N: I was going to make it longer… but just decided on this one. 3000 words! I'm proud of myself. XP Revisions almost killed me… but I survived!!! XD


	6. Investigating Kota Renji

a/n: I really prefer writing in past tense. *sigh*

* * *

"So… that's it?" Ryu raises his head to look at the white-clad detective. Nanami gives him a derisive smirk from his place behind his humble desk. "Nothing suspicious?"

"I checked everything. Bothered a lot of nasty folks too. Not even a detention slip." Nanami smoothly stands from the swivel chair and stands behind the blue-haired prodigy. His look makes Ryu want to hit him. "It may be a little presumptuous; Ryu-kun, but you know how we detectives are. Exasperatingly curious." Nanami said it with a lazy drawl that pulled at Ryu's nerves.

Ryu spares him a narrowed glance. "What is it?"

"Are you, by any chance, incriminating your sister?"

That's exactly what I'm doing. "She comes out of nowhere and demands to be welcomed with open arms. No letters, not even a phone call. I'm a detective, what am I supposed to think?" In the back of his mind, Ryu just realized he had talked back to his superior, but Nanami-sensei doesn't seem to be taking offense yet.

He looks back at the records the teacher has handed him just a few hours ago. "I'm not so sure she's my sister. Yurie would have told me about it." Yeah, right. That woman hid more than she told. Ryu goes through every known expletive in his head. In four different languages.

"Your mother, huh?" Ryu doesn't like the look Nanami is giving him. "Condolences. I apologize in advance. I'm going to be insensitive but I'm not really interested in your dead mother. Your sister is far more fetching."

I'll say. "You just told me you had nothing, sensei." Ryu mutters.

"I hear you're living with her." Nanami smirks.

"Yes. I was there before coming here." Ryu purses his lips, and tries not to think _how_ exactly Nanami-sensei knew. "She said her uncle rented it. I don't like the sound of the uncle. Did you check him?"

Ryu knows it is ridiculous but it feels like Nanami-sensei is scrutinizing him. He leans back on his seat in an attempt to look casual and at ease, but feels like Nanami is seeing right through him.

"Yeah. Her story matched though, I told you she's so clean you can like crumbs off her." Nanami's face wrinkled. And Ryu wills himself to brush away the nasty thoughts. "That's a disturbing mental image. Anyway," the detective goes back to his desk and pulls a folder from one of the top drawers. "Retired Japanese politician. It's all in the file; you can keep it, I have a copy."

Ryu shakes his head slightly. "I'll just read it here. I'd rather not leave it at home where Ren could find it."

"Getting attached, hm?"

Not even in my dreams. "I'd rather you not tease me about it, sensei."

His tone made Nanami back off, but the older man still gave him looks that made Ryu squeamish.

He peruses the folder handed to him and scans the information lazily. He already knows he won't find anything. Ren seemed confident about that. She was right. He thinks back to their conversation earlier.

_--_

_Kota Renji or Amakusa Ren or whoever she is was sitting on the bed fiddling with a beat up looking rubrics' cube in her hand. She looked up when he entered, and happily tossed the contraption on her bed to welcome him with a megawatt smile. All in the span of four seconds. Ryu was impressed._

"_What's up, big brother?"_

"_First of all: never call me that again." Ryu stepped in and closed the door behind him. Her expression didn't change with his dismissal. If possible, her smile only grew wider. _

"_Second?" she prompted._

"_Second, let's play a game."_

_Her eyes sparked with interest."A game?"_

"_Truth."_

_Her excitement fell. "And I thought it was something good. I should've known not to expect anything from you."_

_He ignored the jibe. "I'll be asking a few questions and I want you to tell me the truth." Ryu thought that over. "But since I have a feeling you'll be lying to me anyway, how about you keep quiet if you're not up to answering my questions directly?"_

_She uncrossed her legs and shifted over in the bed to make room. He took the invitation and sat beside her, with enough space between them to be comfortable. "I'm not making any promises. As you can tell, I'm not a very virtuous woman."_

_Ryu wanted to tell her that she's nowhere near a woman. Not yet. "Your efforts should be enough." He said amiably. He places a hand on either side of him, noting with a bit of amusement the stuffed toys that were packed at the head of the bed. "Alright. First question." Despite her earlier claim of the game being 'boring' Ryu noticed her straightening. If that wasn't a demonstration of interest… well… "Do you like me or not?"_

_She raised an eyebrow at that. "That question can be interpreted in a lot of ways, Ryu-sama." It bugged Ryu, the way she shifted from his sister to his loyal subject in the blink of an eye. But Ren was right. He needed to be a bit more specific._

"_When I first talked to you," Ryu was careful to keep eye contact. "You told me that you expressed your disgust and protest to Yurie when she told me that you were to be monitoring me if she passes away. Was it personal?"_

"_Personal?"_

"_As in, were you averse to the job or _me_, in particular."_

"_Aa." Ren looked about her room, as if mulling how much to tell him. She probably was. "It would be against the job etiquette to answer that. I'm curious though. What conclusions have you drawn?"_

_He smiled, a little. "That you want to push needles under my nails, burn me in the stake and spit on my grave. Or something along those lines, I don't have you quite pinned down yet."_

_She laughed. Really, really laughed. "Oh, that's rich. Just rich." She grinned jovially. "Alright. I'll breach protocol or whatever it is you call it, since you made me happy. You're not that far off."_

_Ryu didn't know whether to be pleased or mortified. He settled for an uncanny mixture of both. "Well, as long as you're not minding your manners, can you tell me the reason behind such affinity?"_

"_Still so formal. The information you're asking for though, is strictly confidential. Only me, myself and I."_

_Still? Ryu frowned. She sounded as if she knew him._

"_Have we met before?"_

_She froze. Literally. Ryu watched her thaw, which took about five seconds. "I don't know if met would be the right word." The smile she wore then was nervous, flitting. "But I've bumped into you."_

_Ryu almost smiled. That answered more than she bargained for, he'll bet. "Alright. Last question."_

"_Shoot."_

"_Who's the uncle?"_

_Her confidence returned. "I'd like to see you figure that out yourself."_

_--_

"Walking down memory lane?"

Ryu blinks rapidly and almost couldn't recognize the papers scattered on the floor below him. "I'm sorry." He says in a hoarse whisper before picking them up.

"Is there something else you wish to tell me?"

For an instant, Ryu almost considered telling Nanami-sensei everything. Pluto. His involvement. His betrayal. Ren. But he kills the thoughts the moment they try to invade his brain.

No, he can't. He will not drag down his class or the school with him. He'll clean his name first, just so he can prove to himself that he's worthy.

"Not in the moment, Nanami-sensei. Thank you for your help. I hope you have a lovely evening. And a favor, please?"

"Hm?"

"Don't talk about this with anybody. _Especially_ Class Q."

--

On the walk home, Ryu allows himself to think. In his hand is one of the small notebooks he found lying on his new room. He has jotted down notes, observations, and presumptions. So far, things didn't look good.

He thinks back to Ren's unusual behavior. Sure, she is almost constantly unusual but that is the first time he glimpses insecurity. They had been talking about pre-DDS meetings.

That means, we have met, and something that affected her happened. She joined the organization at eleven. I was about fifteen at that time, fresh student in DDS.

Ryu hacks his brain but he is sure he hasn't met her before.

It must have been a one-sided encounter then. Her first job might have been tailing me, I don't know. Yurie didn't give me details about other operations and I was already breaking away from Pluto then.

Ryu frowns at the memory of his own foolishness before realizing he has already arrived at the doorstep.

--

He finds her in the kitchen, eating instant ramen. She looked up from the cup when she heard the door open, and was ready with a big smile.

"How's your little investigation turning up, Ryu-'nii-chan?" she says giddily through a mouthful.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that?" He walks over and grabs the untouched bowl beside hers. He sniffs it carefully at her but deemed it safe enough to grab a pair of chopsticks and eat a mouthful.

"Don't worry brother, I may not be a saint, but I usually don't resort to underhanded tricks. That food's clean."

Ryu caught the key word. "Usually, huh?"

She returns his look. "Usually."

They eat in silence for a while. Ryu could feel the questions piling in his head and glares at the smirk she gives him.

"Ren?" He pauses to make sure she is giving him her full attention. She is. "Is grandfather still determined to…"

"Retrieve you?" she asks. Ryu nods and eats another bite. "Yes."

He waits for her to say more, but she had already stood up and was piling the bowl on the sink. "You're cleaning up tonight. I already cooked."

"Putting heated water in instant noodles is not cooking." Ryu finds himself saying.

"Whatever."


	7. The Rest of Class Q

"Ryu didn't call last night either." Kyu's voice is clear but mellow on the other line. Kazuma sits up, looking longingly at the white feather pillows before turning his focus on his classmate.

"Kyu, I know you're best friends and all, but you're nearing stalker status. You're not Ryu's mother. God bless her soul.

"But he should at least have told us he's fine and all. Mom's blowing my ear off."

"Well then, why don't you call _him_?" Kazuma is tempted to tell him that _he's_ not Ryu's mother for godsakes and why does Kyu keep calling _him_???

"It's six in the morning. Ryu doesn't wake up until six-thirty."

You didn't seem to mind waking _me_ up. Kazuma bites his tongue. "Then be his wake-up call! It wouldn't kill him to wake up a bit earlier. Then we'll have something in common."

Kyu at least, has the grace to be embarrassed. "Sorry 'bout that Kazuma. But there's another problem."

"Uhh… Ryu didn't exactly write down his phone number."

Facepalm.

--

Kyu is trying to focus on the lesson, but now and then his eyes dart at the empty chair.

"This is the first time Ryu ditched."

Kinta doesn't look up from the book opened on his desk, but Kyu is pretty sure that he was the one who spoke.

"I'm sure he has a reason." Megu pipes up beside him. She winks at Kyu. "Ryu isn't the type of person to goof off."

"Maybe his weird little sister convinced him. She's not here either." Kinta whispers back. "That's cute. A little sibling bonding."

Kyu taps the pen on his desk and waits until Honggou-sensei turns his back to write something on the board. "Is she going to be enrolled in Class Q?"

"That's the impression I got." Kazuma says. He is typing on his laptop. "Anyway, guys, I just remembered something."

Megu and Kyu turn on their seat so they were halfway facing him. Kinta just flashes him a look.

"I typed Kota Renji on one of my new search engines last night and I got some pretty good results."

"Stop bragging and just get to the point, nerd." Kinta.

Kazuma rolls his eyes. "Well, one article I found –dated September 15, 2007- says she's been a top student in a new university in France. Pathology."

Megu's eyebrows meet. "Maybe it's a different Kota Renji. Ryu's sister is barely old enough for university."

"I thought so too, but the article came with a picture."

Kazuma was about to turn his laptop to face them when Honggou-sensei steps in and shuts it down on his face.

"No chit-chat during lessons. Turn your books on page 457."

"Y-Yes, sensei!"

--

Kinta glares at his classmates before knocking on the office door.

"Who is it?" a voice calls from inside.

Kinta swallows visibly. He looks behind him at his classmates for some moral support but found only half-scared looks made to urge him on. "Uhh, it's us, Class Q, Nanami-sensei. You mind if we come in?"

The door opens and the five students find themselves facing a grinning Kotaro Nanami.

"What can I offer you guys this lovely afternoon?"

--

"That went well." Kyu grins, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"It was hard, but worth it." Kinta agrees. "Nanami-sensei drives a hard bargain."

They've got the address.

--

Kota Renji wasn't exactly jumping up and down when she saw them, but she was cordial enough.

Kinta picks up a cookie, sniffs it suspiciously, before he pops it in his mouth.

Renji looks at him smugly. "Those are store bought. Should be good enough."

"They are." He admits.

"Glad you like them, then." She crosses her legs and looks at them each in the eye. "Well, you should've known Ryu-'nii-chan won't be around so I'm guessing you came for me. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Megu wonders where her confidence comes from. She doesn't tell Renji that they have no idea where her brother is. "Well, we'll be working together from now on so we thought it best that we… you know, get to know each other."

Renji brushes a lock of hair away from her face. "So what's this? Some sort of surprise bonding moment?"

"Precisely, brat." Kinta gets a hard hit on the ribs for that jibe, courtesy of a certain pink-haired female.

"Yeah, that's if... it's alright with you." Megu gives her a brilliant smile.

Renji shrugs. "Well, you're here. Might as well get it over with."

Kinta scowls but Kyu cuts in before he can dump his thoughts on the girl. "Where did you use to study, Renji-chan?"

Renji returns his grin, a bit more naturally. "France, but stop kidding me. Bunch of extraordinary detectives like you guys; I'm sure you've done your homework. I'm not really fond of pretenses so let's cut to the chase, if that's alright."

Kazuma takes the cue. "We've done some research. You have an impressive record."

"I'm not lacking." She admits.

Modesty is not her forte. "What I'm really interested in is your relationship with Ryu. Could you explain that to us, please?"

She takes a sip of tea before replying. "Sure. Well, you already now about the adoption part."

Kyu nods. "Did you meet Ryu the first time, then?"

She smiles easily. "It might surprise you, but I haven't Ryu until that day in the classroom."

Class Q gave her wide-eyed stares.

She laughs. "After Yurie-kaa-chan adopted me, she sent me immediately to my Uncle in France. He took care of me, raised me. I only saw my brother through pictures. Besides, Onii-chan was busy being awesome, as I'm sure you know. He's establishing his name in the profession at an early age. He's always in the papers, prodigy and all that." She sticks her tongue out playfully. "It's a bit sad that it took Yurie-kaa-chan's death to bring us together, but past is past."

"That's a real sob story." Kinta suddenly mutters. "But I'm not believing a word that you said."

She shrugs carelessly, and Kazuma had an inkling that she's been accused of a liar one too many times to really care. "That's it. I've told you what I know. You believe what you want." She looks at all of them in the eye again. "Are we done?"

"Yes." Kinta bites back. Megu and Kazuma follow. Kyu seemed to want to stay, but heads out after them.

--

Megu spoons a huge dollop of chocolate ice cream, marveling at the pleasure on her tastebuds.

Class Q are in Kazuma's dining room, each with a generous serving of parfait.

"You think we should tell Ryu?" Kinta spoons his own ice cream on his mouth.

Kazuma grabs the printed copy of the article and tosses it to Kyu. "He might be interested. I got some more."

"More?" Kyu asks. He is looking at the picture of twelve-year old Kota Renji [then known as Amakusa Ren]. Her hair is longer, almost to her waist, dark brown and straight but those crinkling eyes and small smile were the exact replica of the face he saw just an hour ago. Kyu wonders for a while what her realy hair color is.

"Yeah, Ryu asked me to check out some prints before, I told you about that Kyu."

Kyu blinks. "Oh yeah."

"Well, I was wondering about that. Looks like Ryu's working something on his own." Kinta frowns and shoves the empty glass away from him before eyeing Megu's discreetly.

"It didn't sound so right with me either so I kept the latents with me, just in case." Kazuma's smile is sly and almost scary as he lifts a clear tape from his file case. "Guess what this is."

"Ren's fingerprint." Megu's eyes light up. "Of course. She could've sent a letter to Ryu before arriving here! He got suspicious, lifted her prints from the letter and asked you to verify it!"

Kinta nods. "That's a plausible story."

"Megu's right, at least. It's Ren's but this isn't from Ryu." Kazuma scans the print on his laptop and his classmates crowd around him. "I lifted it from her earlier."

Three jaw drops.

"How the hell did you manage that???"

"The tea cup. I had my laptop with me, it was a pretty neat cover."

"Nice work, squirt." Kinta acknowledges, watching the computer do its magic.

"Of course! I'm not as useless as you." Kazuma mutters haughtily. "Got it." He exclaims before Kinta could bonk him on the head.

"That confirms it." Kazuma presses a key and a familiar face pops out on the screen. "Ren's the girl Ryu was looking for."


	8. Going Solo

Lights are out.

Ryu brushes his feet on the rug before closing the door behind him, glad for the warmth. The clock read ten o 'clock. He thinks about Kyu's mother and her bouts of worry if they weren't at the house by nine and for a moment Ryu feels happy, that someone out there is worrying for him. Did Ren wait up for him?

"You took your time."

Guess she did but her tone sounded bored rather than worried.

"It took longer than I thought." Ryu hangs up his coat and looks up. She's sitting on one of the steps, arms grappling the railings like a prisoner.

"Your friends don't like me very much 'nii-chan."

He looks at her suspiciously. He's at the foot of the stairs now but she remains where she is, her eyes locked on him.

"Especially that squinty guy."

Ryu bites. "Kinta?"

"That one." Ren confirms. Ryu could feel the smugness radiating off her.

"What made you say that?"

Her look made the boy wary. "I served him tea and cookies this afternoon and he didn't even thank me for it."

Ryu crossed the ten or so steps between them in less then three seconds and grabs her shoulders. She is jerked away from her position and gathered in his arms, her shoulders trapped painfully between his clenched fists. She doesn't flinch, but looks at the quivering muscles on her brother's forearms.

His voice is sharp and demanding. "Kinta's been here. With _you_?"

"You make it sound like I'm the sort of person who kicks puppies around and lets them drown in the pool of their own blood."

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"Squinty's been here, along with the rest of you classmates. I'm going to get all bruised up you know. I hate domestic violence cases."

Ryu shakes her. "What did you tell them?"

"In case you didn't get the _hint,_" she snaps her teeth at him. "I'm telling you to let go of me."

"What did you _say_?"

"Get the _fuck_ away from me!"

The two of them glares at the other for a while and Ren could feel her shoulders getting numb. She curses under her breath.

It takes Ryu two deep breaths before he could pry his hands away from her and step back, his fists clenching on his sides. "Talk."

Ren stands up and he could see the reddish marks his fingers made on her bare arms and almost felt apologetic. "I know what you're worried about and before you go into anaphylactic shock, no, they didn't ask about you." She rolls her eyes heavenward. She glares at him when he opens his mouth to speak. "Shut up. Let me talk. They came here for me."

"For you?" Ryu manages to choke out. His shoulders are visibly less tense.

"Uh-huh." Ren retells the event that underwent with the afternoon tea. "And just because I like to make you sweat, I saw the little techno guy lift a print. Should I –you- be worried?" She raises an eyebrow at him. "I have nothing to hide, from those fools anyway. I can't say the same about you."

Nothing to hide, she says. Ryu wanted nothing more in that moment but to grab the sketch book he stole from her and shove every drawing on her face. Instead, he tells his little sister his little visit, his search of her belongings and how he got by her print and sent them over to Kazuma.

She doesn't look surprised. "He'd have to be very lucky. Fingerprints are different in every finger, and I have no ten print file anywhere."

"Yes." Ryu doesn't feel very lucky though.

"I'd like to have my drawings back." She walks up the stairs and Ryu follows. "So, assuming the techno guy gets the jackpot , they find out that the print you lifted –before our supposed first meeting- is your little sister's. We're not supposed to have met each other, yet you have my print. I'm sure their little detectives minds will drool over it." They reach Ryu's door before she turns to face him with a challenging smile. "What conclusions are drawn, Mr. Detective? You know these guys best."

Ryu feels dread dancing on his chest but answers nonetheless. "That there has been some sort of contact before us before meeting together at DDS."

"Which could lead to?"

"Further investigations. Your background… mine. Anything. What I would do is trace back from your flight from France maybe even further back."

"They wouldn't get anything from street-scouring." Ren says. "But let's not get into the risks of underestimation. Let's say they do figure out something of our passionate past." Ryu glares at her for that. "It would trap us in our lies, which ironically enough, are not lies, if you get what I mean."

Ryu's confusion is palpable. "I'm not quite sure I follow."

"Dimwit." She snaps and for a moment Ryu feels something beside amusement in her eyes. "We met first time at DDS remember? I just told them that –for the record- this afternoon."

Ryu could feel himself getting to the end of his patience. When would this little girl quit insulting him? "And why would you tell them that?" he snaps.

"Hun, it's easier to remember the truth." Her glance is knowing. "So in order to avoid that scenario, what course of action do we humble citizens make?"

Ryu thinks. "A package…" he thinks about the drawings. They are inside his room, taped under a drawer. "Or a letter."

Ren chews at her bottom lip. She looks almost nervous, but a second later her eyes light up again. "Alright. Do we need to fabricate evidence?"She sounded thrilled at the prospect.

Ryu feels the dread eating at his chest. "Uh, no. The drawings are good enough."

"You plan to show them that?" Her eyes are wide with surprise, and dare he say it, anticipation.

"I'm not stupid." Ryu hisses at her, and she smiles smugly at this display of lack of self-control. "We'll just rip out one page."

"Aah. A mysterious piece of art in the mail." She nods appreciatively. "I like it. So your little sister sends you a drawing, I'm assuming you'll be putting up the nice drawing of yourself. If I may recommend the second to the last? So little sister sends it, forewarning of course without name or any contact information. Think they'll buy it?"

"You seem the type." He tells her in a bitter but subdued tone. He feels dirty, like scum. He was _allying_ with this girl; helping her devise a plan to fool his friends, the only guys who stood by him, who appreciated him. The dread on his chest turns to disgust. His fingers grasp the knob of his door tightly.

"Or." Ren pipes up, looking at his paling knuckles. "You could always tell them a conspiracy theory" She curls her fingers in his face, stepping forward with a playful snarl on her face "…that I'm actually some evil little bitch sent to ruin your quaint little life to drag you back to the dark, dark past you worked so hard to run away from." She leans in to whisper the rest. "They're such nice fellows, I'm sure they'll understand."

The mocking tone in her voice echoes in his ears long after she bade him good night.

--

_Ryu could feel his heart hammering against his ribs and was glad that at least his hands weren't shaking. _

_The phone is gripped loosely on his hand. Hazel eyes are focused hard on the screen. No names were registered, which was odd. Ryu copies the numbers on his hand before he realizes that only three numbers appear on her call and message archive. Hope surges on the prodigy's chest. He replaces the phone on the desk and quickly slips back into his room._

_He waits for his sister to call him for breakfast._

--

"_I'm going out. Are you going to be okay on your own?"_

"…"

"_Right. Stupid question. Don't wait up for me."_

--

Ryu stares at the ceiling. He hears Ren shuffle on the other room, hears her blankets being tortured as she tosses and turns in bed and he wonders whether she's just as restless as he is or she's just trying to make herself more comfortable.

He wishes it was the former.

Ryu could almost feel his nerves rattle amongst each other. He had found nothing he hadn't known beforehand.

Uncle, huh? That's rich.

He feels something wet on his forehead and realizes he is sweating, so he turns on the air-conditioning before returning to bed.

When Ryu closes his eyes, he dreams.

And his dreams are nowhere near pleasant.

* * *

a/n: Ryu's conducting his own investigation. Details on the next chap. XP


	9. Digging Deep

_Ryu looked at his watch before he remembered that it died just that morning, the time read eight-fifteen permanently. He made a mental note to get it fixed as soon as he can, before he crossed the road._

_The girl at the counter smiled at him, the recognition in her face readable. _

"_Amakusa-kun." She greeted, showing her white, even teeth. She leaned over the counter to demonstrate her interest and a little something else. Ryu trained his eyes on her made-up face. "It's been a while since you visited."_

"_Chiina." Ryu pronounced her name in a clear voice. He wanted to make it clear to her that he would never respond to her advances. "I'm here for professional reasons."_

_She batted her eyelashes. "They all say that."_

_Ryu doubted it. "I'm sure they do. Is Hiiro in?"_

_She pouted at him. "He's out back. And I'll just be riiiiight here." She traced circles on her neck in some form of invitation._

_Ryu shook his head to politely decline. "You have a good day."_

_--_

_The room Ryu entered was well-furnished, even having a couple of well-done paintings hanging on whitewashed walls. He was impressed. Last time it had looked worse than the dump._

"_You did a good job, Hiiro." The detective acknowledged._

_The man was buried in folders that he seemed to be organizing on one of the newly-painted lockers. The room reeked of paint, sweat and the musky scent of a male's perfume. Hiiro looked up._

"_Problem?"_

_Hiiro was a man who was so sensitive to situations it was scary; but Ryu appreciated the lack of need to get into awkward explanations. He nodded and the man left his little problem on the floor and grabbed him a chair. _

_Hiiro was twenty-three and his most prominent feature was his long hair in the shade of dirty green. The strands were kept in place in a ponytail at the base of his neck and swung elegantly on the crook of his back. Ryu watched like a cat as Hiiro moved around the room. The man was confident and self-assured and Ryu still has yet to uncover why he always seemed to have a bandage on his right cheek. He had never asked._

"_It took you a while to take my offer." Hiiro said with an amiable smile, drinking a cup of cold coffee. He was wearing a sleeveless white shirt that contrasted nicely against his lightly brown skin. "I told you to come by, what, two years ago?"_

"_I'm sorry. Busy." The lie hardly showed on his face. "But something just came up that I think you'd be interested in."_

"_Of course, of course." Hiiro waved it away, the empty cup dangling precariously on his forefinger Ryu almost jerked in his seat to catch it._

_Hiiro crossed his legs and leaned forward in earnest. "So… who are we hunting down tonight?"_

_Ryu paused for a second before giving the older man a piece of paper. "May I trust your word to keep this confidential?"_

"_My class would be in it." Hiiro said without looking up._

_Ryu thought about it. Despite the shady background, Hiiro got in DDS and was a member of Class C. Ryu had seen them a few times and was well aware of their less than best opinion of him. A few more negative assumptions about him wouldn't hurt. Besides, the other man he intended to see was Hiiro's classmate as well. At the back of his mind, he wondered if Dan-sensei ever knew about the older man's dealings._

_Still, it better not reach anyone _my_ class. "No one outside?"_

"_Just us." Hiiro peered at the paper. "Don't worry. We're tight and I trust those guys."_

_Ryu shrugged, noticing the interest glinting in the other man's eyes as he scrutinized the photo. "Then do what you want. Is Fai-san home?"_

"_That brat's always home in the afternoon if he can help it. " It seemed Hiiro couldn't hold back. "Who's she?"_

"_My sister." Ryu replied tightly before going out, ignoring Chiina on the way._

_--_

_Fai had been cranky, being woken up from his nap but once Ryu told him he needed his help in an important case, the blonde man sobered up and practically carried him in._

_Fai was an elegant man; effeminate with a lean body that matched well with the shoulder-length blonde hair that seemed to bounce with his every step. "Fai" was a nickname, but the man refused to be called anything but._

"_You're never the type to ask for favors." Fai sniffed. "So this must be big. What can I do for you?"_

_Ryu produced a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to him. Fai's fingers were long and feminine. A lock of almost white hair fell on his face as he looked at the number. Ryu blinked._

"_What do you want me to do?"_

"_Location. Name. Anything, really." Ryu admitted. "I have absolutely nothing."_

"_I don't suppose you'll tell me what this is about." Fai's smile is sarcastic._

_Ryu tried to imitate it. "No."_

_--_

_Kyu and the others should all be heading home now, Ryu thought. Spying his gaudy reflection in a store window, he attempted to fix himself up and succeeded a tad before he decided he was famished and looked for something to eat._

_He had given Fai and Hiiro his number in case they found something but not one of them had called him yet. Ryu bought some fish crackers and was halfway through the bag when his phone rang._

_He fumbled to answer it. "Moshi Moshi. Amakusa Ryu."_

"_What do you want for dinner?"_

_Ryu blinked before realizing that it was his sister on the other line. He looked at the bag of crackers on his left hand. "Uhh, what are you cooking?"_

"_Ramen."_

_Ryu had a sudden urge to go home but then remembered that he had something to do. "I'm already-"_

"_If you're already eating, why did you take so damn long to say so?" Ren snapped. Then she hung up on him._

_Ryu glared at his phone. "Brat."_

_It was strangely nice of her to call him though._

_--_

_Fai called right after he ate the last piece._

"_Got something?"_

"_Disposable phone."_

"_What?"_

_Fai sighed. "Whoever was calling used a disposable phone. So I got nothing, no location or whatever."_

"_Please tell me there's a but." Ryu almost pleaded._

_Ryu swore he heard Fai grin. "I don't know if it's any help but I got call records. The phone called three numbers in its short lifespan."_

"_And…?" Ryu jumped down on the chair he was sitting on and exited the shop, merging himself with the crowd. He barely noticed it was nightfall._

"_And…" Fai extended his syllables just to irritate the prodigy. "I traced these numbers and this time, I got a match."_

_Ryu's joy depleted. "Only one?"_

_Fai laughed. "Double, kid. My mistake."_

"_And the third number?"_

"_That? Well, if you're interested, it was the international airport."_

_The hope returned a hundredfold. "I'm all ears, Fai. I swear I'll owe you my life for this."_

"_Hun, I'm sure there'll be a time I'll make you do something for me to make it even. Can you come over in ten?"_

"_I'll make it in five!" Ryu promised before he laughed. For once he felt good. He was finally going somewhere._

--

Ryu stumbles awake when something warm and sticky got dumped on his face.

"What was that for???"

Ren is looking at him with mild amusement, but it did nothing to conceal the fury that was burning him in her eyes. "Ryu-sama."

Her quipped tone catches Ryu's attention. "What?"

"Your friends just called. You're assigned to a case."

She shakes remaining drops of milk on her glass to his face before proceeding out of his room.

He smells some food cooking in the kitchen and wonders if she'll offer him any.

--

_Fai was sitting in front of the computer when Ryu arrived seven minutes later._

"_Five minutes, huh?"_

_Ryu showed him two cans of soda as consolation. "Sorry, got caught up. I was thirsty."_

_Fai grabbed the other can before pushing himself away from the desk to give Ryu room. "Hiiro just left before you did. He briefed me."_

_Ryu nodded before scanning the profile on the screen. _

_Fai continued. "Well, the girl you're asking him to dig up had an orphanage record. Kota Renji, if I remember correctly. Same registered name on one of the phones."_

_Ryu nodded. It confirmed that Ren's name was legal, at the very least. "And the other?"_

"_Yuka Sakura." Fai read from his palm. "Female. Asian… somewhere in Hokkaido. Her record's a bit muddy. I'm guessing that's a fake name."_

_It could've been Yurie's. "I see. Did you look into the airport number too?"_

_Fai grinned. "Yes. I asked if they have booked any flights under Kota Renji or Yuka Sakura. Kota flew into Japan from France two weeks ago."_

_So far, Ren's story sticks. Ryu hoped Hiiro brings more useful information. He thanked Fai, promised to keep in touch, then left._

--

"Thank you for the meal." Ryu says in a somber tone after pushing the empty bowl away.

Ren nods and eats her last bite of cereal. "By the way, I'm enrolled."

Ryu looks up.

"Class Q. I'll be working with you on your case." Ren's smile is tight. "Please look after me."

--

"_Ryu…"_

_Hiiro's voice was alarming. "Yes?"_

"_You might want to come over. I got something… interesting."_

_It was pretty late, but what the hell. "I'll be there. Give me ten minutes."_

_

* * *

  
_

a/n: Fai and Hiiro are OC's from an abandoned DSQ fanfic featuring my own Class C. I love them to bits so I decided to let them at least make an appearance here. XP

Third day as a college student. haha! I'm still undecided whether I like it. XP


	10. Lies and Kota Taichi

a/n: I would bet nobody's keeping up with this. *shot* XD

**Chapter Ten: **Lies and Kota Taichi

Ryu knocks three times before pushing the door open. He finds his sister propped on her pillows, a large volume open at her stomach. She is wearing reading glasses and for a minute he tries to look for something in her movements that would clue him in to what she was trying to accomplish.

He jumps when she snaps the huge book shut. "I don't appreciate people staring at me when I'm trying to study." She removes her glasses and places them on her nightstand. "What is it that you came to tell me?"

Ryu swallows, his throat suddenly dry, before he enters and closes the door behind him.

--

_Hiiro is on his third cup of coffee when Ryu arrived. The guest looks at the empty cups on the table before taking a seat with the older man on the floor._

"_Penny for your thoughts?"_

_Hiiro's hand shakes with both anxiety and excitement. "Make that a gazillion pennies." The man laughs and even his laughter is shaky._

"_Pluto." He declares abruptly._

_Ryu freezes in front of him._

--

"I need your help."

Ren looks comical with her mussed hair and caterpillar pyjamas but Ryu couldn't laugh.

"With what?" she snaps impatiently, her toes wriggling under the sheets.

He licks his lips. "With the story." He presses hard on the mattress. "We need to match." He can't fucking believe he was doing this.

She smirks and Ryu sinks just a little more in self-hatred. "Haven't we talked about this?"

"Yes. But we need to polish it. Make it smooth."

"A minute by minute break down, you mean."

"Yes."

She shrugs. "Alright. Let's start with my drawing."

--

_Hiiro misinterprets Ryu's fear and he jumps up jerkily from the floor and starts randomly pacing. "I know. I know. You stumbled on something BIG, Ryu. We need to tell someone about this. Hell, we need to tell _Dan-sensei_ about this. Shit. This is HUGE." The cup of coffee is kicked and spilled on the rug but neither was bothered. "Pluto. Shit."_

"_Can…" Ryu tries to organize the thoughts running through his head. "Can you connect the dots for me, please?"_

_Hiiro stops pacing and gestures instead, his arms flying in wide arcs and almost smacking the furniture in the place. "The uncle." He starts, breaths, grins. "The uncle whose name is…" Narrowed eyes look at the scattered papers. "…Kota Taichi, has been arrested for rape and murder of a twelve year old boy" Both men visibly wince. "yester-fucking-day. Pun not intended." The gestures are more spontaneous now, and he resumes pacing. "DDS members were called to the case after Kota goes bangs his head on the bars right after being locked up."_

"_Hypnotism." Ryu says with confidence. "Did he die?"_

"_Yes." Hiiro nods gravely. "Cracked his own skull open. Of course, he deserved it… but what the hell. Pluto…"_

_Ryu shares the sentiment but is once again left confused. "You say that this man legally adopted my sister?"_

"_Yes. She was even a listed relative on the newspapers. DDS was mentioned."_

_Hiiro points at the article that was almost sullied by the spilt coffee. Ryu grabs it, all the while not believing that Pluto would be so stupid as to leave open and obvious evidence. _

_Hazel eyes scan the small text._

"…professionals have been called in to investigate the death of the convicted Kota Renji…"

"…psychological defects… incapacity… hypnotism"

"…the man was believed to have adopted one Kota Renji who is now under the care of DDS…"

"…begets the question, who is next?"

_Ryu drops the papers, remembers her smile as she bows in front of him before he left home._

"_**Thank you for the meal." Ryu says in a somber tone after pushing the empty bowl away.**_

_**Ren nods and eats her last bite of cereal. "By the way, I'm enrolled."**_

_**Ryu looks up.**_

"_**Class Q. I'll be working with you on your case." Ren's smile is tight. "Please look after me**_."

--

Ryu looks at his classmate in turn and feels the dread eating at his chest before he steels himself. "I need to tell you guys something."

Kinta scoffs. "You need to tell us a lot of things."

"Let Ryu talk, Kinta." Megu chides, stepping on the taller man's foot.

"Thank you." Ryu whispers, ignoring the growing blush on Megu's cheeks. He pulls out a paper from his pocket and hands it to Kyu.

Kyu looks at the paper in confusion before opening it.

Ryu chose the sketch of the old building, despite his little sister's protests and he looks at the confused looks on his classmate's faces before he spins his tale.

"I saw that on my mail two days before I met my sister in the flesh."

Expressions range from shock, disbelief and even fear. Four pairs of eyes look at the black powder scattered on different locations on the page.

"This is where you took the fingerprint." Kazuma looks up finally. "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"I thought it was a prank, maybe from a jealous schoolmate from the other classes. And then I met Ren and I'm too shocked to sort out anything, I guess."

Kinta's eyes narrow suspiciously. "It took you this long to inform your classmates about this?"

"I apologize." Ryu says sincerely. "In my defense, I was trying to wrap my finger around the idea that I have a sister." And a sister that works from the very shadow that I'm trying to break free from so I could finally do things right… "I'll understand if you wouldn't for-"

"We'll forgive you, Ryu." Kyu interrupts, his cheery smile that was supposed to make Ryu feel lighter only serving to make the pain in his chest worse. "If you forgive us too."

Ryu eyes the four as they share sheepish looks. "We've sorta been snooping around too." Kazuma offers.

Ryu blinks. Of course. They have been conducting their own investigation. Ren has even told him that they came over and interrogated her.

"Uhmm guys," Ryu interrupts Kazuma in the middle of his boasting of lifting a print from a teacup. "If it's not too much to ask, can we talk about this later, at _length_, maybe at Kyu's house?"

All four exchange glances before finally, to Ryu's relief, they agree.


	11. Tea, Cookies and Dreams

a/n: One more chapter before school restarts. I hate school. Why can't we ever learn about cool stuff? Hrrg.

**Chapter Eleven:** Tea, Cookies and Dreams

Tea and cookies are supposed you feel better. More so when you are with friends.

But all Ryu feels is guilt [and perhaps, a little excitement because trying to find out something always makes him feel as if he's doing something worthwhile] and dread.

Class Q is gathered in a circle, a bowl of chips half-consumed in the middle. Ryu is seated at the twelve o'clock position facing the door, on his right is Kyu and on his left is Kazuma then Megu and finally Kinta is face down at six o'clock.

Kinta grabs his pack in one swift movement, grabs a sheaf of papers and slaps it right beside the bowl.

His classmates eye him in surprise.

"That brat's DDS records. I got" A pause. "…_copied_ it from Nanami-sensei. I only got down the important bits though."

"I'm surprised you know which ones are relevant." Kazuma grabs the top paper and peers at the scribble of lines that is Kinta's handwriting. He glances warily at the rest of them. "Got any clue how to decipher this?"

He got a well-deserved punch for his wisecrack.

The papers are divided in five and distributed to each student and the five of them silently peruse the contents, setting down their own wad of paper after they're through and taking turns reading each part.

Megu is the first to speak.

"Well…" she begins, wetting her bottom lip. "Her story sticks at least… and I don't know if this is relevant but I only saw one discrepancy."

Ryu looks at his classmates and realizes that he is the only one that is not at the same page, which was often the case, but it was not often that they analyze things before him. "I get the feeling I'm not up to speed here."

Kazuma volunteers. "I did some research work on… Ren-chan." The young programmer picks on his orange hat in an effort to keep his hands busy. "Articles say that she studied in France –that bit adds up- but a particular piece I found said she majored in pathology."

"But records say she studied arts." The older brother offers helpfully.

"Oh yeah." Kinta grabs the paper Megu was holding and reads the text over quickly. "I should've remembered that."

"It's alright Kinta. At least you had given us a copy." The four are surprised to find no remarkable interest on the blue-haired prodigy's face. They watch in bated breath as he stares at the papers in his hands, jumping when he raises his head to stare directly at them.

"I have already conversed with her about this." He says in a voice that somehow suggests that the boy was working on autopilot. "I may have to reiterate that I have, at that point, interrogated Nanami-sensei about her. She admits to have enrolled her first year under pathology. However, nearing her second year she realizes that her passion lies in the arts and there you have it." Ryu spreads the papers in front of him and stares blankly at Kinta's notes. "Of course… there is always the possibility that she lied."

Kyu looks at Kazuma eagerly. "Schools keep track of the courses their students take, right? Can we somehow pry her records on that fancy French school, Kazuma?"

"By 'we' you mean 'me', right?"

The question was rhetorical. Kazuma grabs the paper Megu hands him, confirms the spelling with an irked Kinta, and types in the name of the school on his fancy new search engine.

Kazuma's eyebrows meet in the way that you just know something is not wrong. "Uhmm, guys, I don't think I can be very useful in the prying of records thing."

"But you're the best we got, Kazuma-kun!" Megu exclaims behind him. The flattery in her words slipped right past Kazuma.

"Yeah, on technology-related stuff." He closes his laptop. "They've got a website but that's about it. Some schools just like the traditional way, I guess." He frowns then added as an after thought, "Morons."

"So no online records?" Megu asks.

Kazuma shrugs helplessly. "The only chance we got of getting our hands on them is going to France."

--

She looks at the protruding skin before ghosting her fingers over the uneven flesh. She remembers the blinding pain, the dull ache and finally sweet numbness before she shakes her head off unnecessary memories.

The large book is once again on her lap. Her great _big brother_ is off somewhere having tea and cookies with his pals and it had given her the rest of the day off.

She stares at the ghoulish outlines on the page before reading the small text, consulting an electronic dictionary every now and then.

As she works she entertains the thought of killing. Killing herself. Killing her brother. Killing _them_… but as she devices hundreds of scenarios in her hood, she finds just as many loopholes and she concludes, with an objective air, that she could not even compete with their method of strategy.

Life really is ironic though, she thinks. She closes the book for now, tucking it neatly under the unused pillow beside her. She used to think about a bright future. Proud parents. A flourishing career, perhaps marriage.

_Her mood visibly darkens and she pulls the covers overhead._

Now those commoner dreams are thrown, kicked and stuffed at the deepest, dirtiest part of her mind. Instead, she dreams of blood and traitors, of lies and masks and burned skin, of tiny black imprints on flesh, pocket watches and marionettes molded by the cruelty of man.

Ren shuts her eyes tightly, fingers clutching desperately on her blankets as she forces herself to breath, and she dreams.

--

The bowl is empty, washed and rinsed and there is a wondrous aroma coming from the kitchen.

Ryu leans back on the throw pillows and stretches his legs over the floor, wincing as the telltale sensation of pins and needles crawls over his left calf. "I guess this is a good time as any." He sighs.

The four of them straightened up almost comically. Ryu hides a smile.

"My sister" He feels weird but strangely… accustomed to addressing her as that. "…talked to me."

"Huuwow."

"Shut up, Kinta."

Ryu ignored them. "She told me that we have a new case." The statement is met with four very wide eyes. "And that she'll be joining us in trying to solve it."

--

Ryu finds her stretched on her bed, the blankets clumped by her hip, her feet dangling at an odd angle on the edge of the bed.

He goes over, tucks her in, and after a moment of contemplation, places a chaste kiss on her forehead.

Then he goes to his room and calls Hiiro.

--

a/n: Yeay! Progress! *claps self on back because nobody else wants to do it* Now I have to research for the technical stuffies next chapter. Review and make a poor author happy?


	12. Brother and Sister

a/n: Wow. I haven't updated in more than half a year. Grah. If anyone is still waiting for an update, I'm sorry. My only explanation: College hates me. Boo. I even had to take summer classes. I suck.

**Chapter Twelve:** The Sixth Member

Ryu sits down on the sofa, still feeling a bit out of sorts after the happenings of the day. He can hear his sister singing in the shower on the other room but does not even flinch at her out-of-tune voice.

It was like he was so used to her being there that he tolerated –even awaited- to experience her little imperfections. And what alarmed him was that he was not so averse to the idea.

Ryu knows his weaknesses. As a detective, it was imperative that he not only knew who how a potential enemy might think but he must know extensively how he, himself thinks, acts, and reacts as well. In their profession, hysteria could produce drastic consequences.

Deep inside, Ryu knew what he craved, what he wanted the most.

Family.

And hearing her call him "brother" innumerable times made his heart swell despite the stage of discomfort he felt at the beginning. And even if he won't admit it even under torture, he liked it. He relished being a part of a something he had only really witnessed with Kyu and his mother and various other strangers. It was the one thing that he was deprived of as a child.

Ryu liked the idea of being an older brother, the idea of protecting someone important. And he knew that if this little charade of hers went on he might start believing it's real despite full knowledge that it's not. Such is his desperation.

He heard the creaking as the tap was quickly turned shut and her wet footsteps against the tiles. Then her door opening and closing and could not stop the feeling of immense comfort at the thought that she was just one room away.

Ryu closed his eyes and replayed the events of the day.

* * *

It would be humorous if it wasn't for the fact that he was part of it.

Class Q all wore identical apprehensive faces, which did not miss their teacher's notice. Morohiko Dan let the staring contest go on between them and Ren for a while before clearing his throat to get attention.

"Good morning Class Q."

All five mumbled out their responses, still wearily glancing at the new girl out of the corner of their eye.

Morohiko Dan sighed. "Kota Renji would be joining you for your next case. This would serve as her last exam and she would be subjected both to mine and your judgment so I do hope that you would be a bit more accommodating to her."

Five pairs of eyes whipped to him with incredible speed. Ren continued to bounce back and forth on the balls of her feet, the grin splitting her face in half looking almost cute.

She dropped her torso gracefully in a polite bow, successfully regaining their attention, before turning to look at them with mischievous eyes. "Guess we'll be seeing more of each other then. Please take care of me."

"_Hiiro, I need another favor."_

"_As long as it's within my capabilities, man."_

_Ryu hesitated, swallowed, then said, "Surveillance."_

"_How long?"_

"_24/7"_

As soon as they were dismissed, Class Q wasted no time on cornering the girl.

"You little brat." Kinta marched over and leaned in on her desk. Ren gave him a blank look as a response and the older man bristled in annoyance. "Admit it, you're planning something."

Ren rolled her eyes before standing up and meeting the older man with mocking sneer. "Don't get your knickers in a twist, grandpa. If you weren't too busy being an idiot you might have heard the teacher saying something about it being my exam? Not my fault you're too slow to catch up."

"Why you litt-"

"Let it go, Kinta." Megu said with a slight frown, holding back her classmate. "If Dan-sensei trusts her, then I guess we'll have to give her the benefit of the doubt."

Ren leaned back on her seat with a triumphant smile. "Now that's the most sensible thing I've heard for a while." She stood up and stretched out her arm. "Truce?"

Kyu grabbed the outstretched hand enthusiastically. "Welcome to the team, Ren-chan!"

"_A case, huh? That would be difficult. DDS has surveillance of their own… and they're pretty good. Nanami being one of the best, I'm sure you know."_

"_I'll be sending you all details you require."_

"_You're really serious about this, Ryu-kun." Chuckle. "Alright, I got your back."_

Ryu could not shake the bewildered feeling as he watched the five slip into comfortable banter, all talking about their new case. It was like they forgot that they had suspected Ren in the first place. He stood awkwardly just outside their circle until his sister acknowledged him and that made him all the more awkward because he felt that _he_ should be the one integrating her to the circle, if ever.

"Stop drooling over there, brother, and buy me lunch."

Ryu just stared at her.

Ren rolled her eyes ("Stop that." – Kinta) before standing up and grabbing his wrist. "I'm hungry." she said again, a bit more forceful this time and accentuated with a firm tug on his hand. "I'm broke so you'll treat me."

And just like that, she had instated herself on all aspects of his life.

* * *

"Yo."

Ryu's eyes snapped open so fast he felt the back of his skull throb. He ignored the pain and attempted to sit up, only to find he couldn't.

Ren's eyes were dull as she looked up from her place on top of him. She was kneeling on the side of the bed, arms folded across his chest and neck tilted to look at his face.

This close, Ryu could see the jet black roots starting to show near her scalp, and a little crescent scar on her cheek just before her ear. He took a deep breath but did not speak.

"You know," she started, and ignored the strangled noise he made as a response. Ren adjusted herself so she was leaning more into his chest. Ryu shimmied up to lessen the pressure on his lungs.

"Yurie-sama had only good things to say about you."

Ryu stilled, every muscle on his body tense. Was she drunk? It didn't look like it. She smelled like soap and faint cologne. Her eyes were dull but focused and she didn't stumble at her words.

"She would show me the library you used to always lock yourself in, and leave me there for a few hours almost everyday." Her fingers played with the little V-cut of his shirt, gently pulling at a loose thread before pressing at the cloth again. "Most of the books you read were boring."

Ryu felt the skin on his stomach itch from her hair but ignored the feeling. When she didn't continue, he decided to talk. "Books are generally not that interesting to a lot of people."

"I like reading." She said defensively, "You just have a horrid taste on literature."

Ryu laughed, or at least a poor imitation of it. His stomach and throat rumbled and he lifted his head for a bit and adjusted his pillows before scooting over the bed. Ren went and laid down on the small space he vacated then returned to playing with the neckline of his shirt.

"Some were interesting though. I liked 'The Prince'." (1)

He nodded, his hand absent-mindedly creeping up and playing with her hair. The coarse strands tangled on his fingers. "Machiavelli." He mumbled. "I supposed I should not be surprised. Have you read his Discourses?"

"Nah. Too long."

She trailed off for a bit, her eyes moving restlessly all over his face. "I remember watching you train." she blurted and Ryu thought back to the clean, quiet dojos of his childhood. "As a kid, I was fascinated of course," Ryu stopped himself from telling her that she still was a kid. "But it's nothing compared to how Yurie looked at you."

She smiled. "I would not go as far as to say it was a loving sort of look... it was pride more than anything, I think. She saw you as her accomplishment."

"I don't see why." Ryu told her stiffly.

"Oh please. Don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you." She grunted and pressed her elbow down on his stomach. He released a mouthful of air in pain before glaring at her. She answered with a glare of her own. "From day dot she was assigned as your caretaker. She played the role of your _mother_ for crying out loud."

Ryu bit his tongue to stop a harsh response. Yurie was nothing.

At his silence, Ren lost her aggressiveness and dropped back down on him. "I guess I was a bit jealous." She flattened her palm against his chest and leaned in a bit further. Ryu grunted at the force exerted on his chest but retained eye contact. "I missed having a mother look at me like that. I missed dedicating all that I did for somebody... and it's hard seeing someone, seeing _you_ specifically, have what I want and yet not fully appreciate it."

Ryu laughed bitterly. "Ren, you honestly don't know what you're talking about."

"Why not?"

"You don't know what I've been through." He did not know how else to say it.

"I know more than you think I do." Her voice dropped back to a whisper and Ryu swore he could feel the telltale wetness on the front of his shirt. He pretended not to notice. "You are very, very, lucky Ryu-sama (He hated it when she called him that.) I just wanted to have what you had." Her voice had turned scratchy and he winced when her short fingernails dug unto his skin when she grabbed his shirt roughly into her fists. Ryu could do nothing else but rub her back awkwardly with his only free hand and thanked the heavens when she discreetly rubbed her eyes on her sleeve to wipe away the tears.

They slipped into silence after that. Ryu waited for her to leave but when he turned to look at his sister's face after a few minutes he found her eyes closed and her breathing even. With her asleep like this, it was hard to think of her as the enemy, so Ryu didn't even try.

Without a second thought, he tightened his hold across her shoulders and pulled her tighter against him.

* * *

For those unfamiliar with the title…

(1) "The Prince" – not mine. It's written by Niccolò Machiavelli. It's basically a: How to Be a Successful Ruler for Dummies sort of thing. It's a political publication, written for who Machiavelli thought would be the leader that could unite a divided Italy at that time. I read it for my Social Science class.

Just to make their conversation a bit clearer, Machiavelli's methods of being a "Prince" or a monarch is not really diplomatic in any sense. He's a shrewd, manipulative man. And just to emphasize this…

Machiavellian, **Machiavelian**

_adj_ _(sometimes not capital)_

of or relating to the alleged political principles of Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), Florentine statesman and political philosopher; cunning, amoral, and opportunist

_n_

a cunning, amoral, and opportunist person, esp a politician

**Machiavellianism** , **Machiavellism** _n_

**Machiavellist** _adj_ & _n_

(Disclaimer! Disclaimer! Disclaimer!) I got this from an online dictionary.

So yea, I hope that's clear. Sorry if it's a bit all over the place. And I concentrated on the 'siblings' for a while. Next chapter, start of the case. Wew. Bah. Reviews? *crosses fingers*


	13. Child

**Chapter Thirteen:** Child

Hiiro carefully slides the blade down the line of packaging tape before lifting the dusty brown flaps of the box. He then lifts the large brown book and sets it aside on top of the clutter that is his desk.

Nanami's note is taped on the cover, telling him to send the package back after a week and not a second later. The note was signed with a poorly drawn cactus that made Hiiro chuckle before he ripped it in half and threw it on the floor.

It was a photo album. And the first display was a child's drawing. Red crayon on a crumpled piece of paper that formed what looked like a bad rendition of a boy's face half-hidden in a stack of books. Hiiro noticed with amusement a slight tear repaired by clear tape on the corner of the paper before moving on.

The next was a photo of a boy not older than four staring at out with brown eyes, pudgy fingers reaching out at the camera. There was a ripped out piece of yellow paper sticky taped at the bottom. Hiiro had to squint his eyes to read but he was pretty sure the note read, "MY DO."

He blindly pulls the phone of the hook and dials Ryuu's number while looking at all the other pictures.

Ryu could hear the phone ringing downstairs and in the back of his mind he knew it was important but he couldn't bring himself to get up and pull himself away from the nice little fantasy he had weaved for himself. If he gets up and she wakes up reality will crash and he doubts they'll ever be like this again.

Right now, he was just a big brother. Ryu closed his eyes and tightened his hold on Ren, smelling the faint smell of shampoo in her hair and not minding the loss of feeling on his arm.

He tried to think of what it would have been like had he known her earlier. Would he have played with her as a child? Thought her how to read? Gave her riddles to solve on a daily basis? Shielded her from other males? Bought her treats whenever he had to leave her at home? Would he have to force her to dentist appointments, help her do her homework, buy her a special lunch on their birthdays? It made his throat close with emotion that was so familiar but at the same time foreign that he had difficulty breathing but still he held on.

Because that's what big brothers are supposed to do, right?

Hiiro slammed the phone down in frustration and checked the clock. It was half past eight. And the drive to DDS would take two hours, too late for a visit. With a little hesitation, he picked up the phone and dialed a different number.

Ren could feel her pillow moving under her head and had a second to reorient herself to her environment. Ryu's arm was wrapped around her shoulder and she was leaning on his chest, hand resting right above his heartbeat. She felt blood rushing to her cheeks before scolding herself in the head and telling herself to get up.

Ten minutes later she was asleep again.

"Where's Ryu and Ren?"

Kyu looked at his classmates with a troubled expression before mumbling out their practiced apology. Classmates backed each other up, after all. "Uhmm, they called five minutes ago. Apparently, there was a mix-up with the moving vans and all her stuff are arriving just now so they'll be delayed a bit."

Hongou gave him a look that said he didn't buy a word of it but gave them their assignment anyway.

"You'll be staying at a co-ed boarding school. Dormitories are separate. Meg you'll be staying with our witness. Her name is Miyama Kaori. Ren would be staying in the room next to yours with the next expected target. Her name is Miyama Yuuko, Kaori's sister."

The four students stood in awkward silence when their sensei suddenly stopped talking, his eyes opening just a little more than they were used to and staring at the papers in his hand as if the words typed on them suddenly came to life and danced the Macarena.

"What's the matter Hongou-sensei?" Kyu inquired with a slightly apprehensive look in his eyes.

Hongou gave them a look that was a cross between grim and amused. "Two of you would have to stay with the girls."

Ryu woke up to the smell of burning toast and was downstairs in a matter of seconds, expression a curious mix of amused, terrified and about-to-have-an-aneurysm-because-the-person-he-shares-a-living-space-with-cannot-work-a-toaster.

Ren grinned from behind the black smoke and thick white foam.

"Err… brunch?"

"Yes. I'll let him know. Bye."

Hiiro released the breath he was holding and replaced the receiver. He had gone through all of the pictures. He would have to find further proof but there is no doubt in his mind that the pictures and most (if not all) of the drawings were of Amakusa Ryuu.

They were not threatening at all. But all of them were done and taken during the young detective's childhood, a time that only a few chosen people were privy to. And it was a bit weird seeing his face so small and chubby yet holding that very same light in those hazel eyes.

He had no doubt in his mind that this has escalated from a simple scouting mission. They'll have to tell Mr. Dan.

* * *

A/N: I was looking through my files when I found this. Rah. It takes me so long to update, I want to strangle myself. Meh.


End file.
